Drought Ending Downpour
by chibijem
Summary: Everyone in Kyou is hoping for relief from the heat including Tomomasa and Takamichi.....


Drought Ending Downpour

By

Chibijem

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Disclaimer: I do not own the characters herein and am making no financial gain from this work of fiction.

A/N: This idea came from two places: the first from my Imoto-san who loves this pairing and is always despairing that there are not enough stories about T I personally love Tomomasa and his personality. The second comes from the dry weather occurring where I live which has finally come to an end. I hope you enjoy the story.

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Tachibana no Tomomasa crept up behind the silent figure standing at the doorway. He smiled to himself, Fujiwara no Takamichi was lost in his study of another dry day. Kyou was in the midst of a dry spell and everyone was hoping for rain to alleviate the hot weather and help the farmers. "Ne, Takamichi?" He asked softly, leaning towards the man in question from behind.

"Tomomasa-dono!" Takamichi spun around, eyes wide as he pushed his glasses back to settle on his nose. "I wish you wouldn't sneak up behind me." He rebuked the older man as he adjusted the scrolls he carried.

"I was not sneaking. Everyone saw me," he motioned to all the people milling about the Imperial courtyards. "Besides, I never sneak." He finished, tapping his ever present fan on the green haired man's shoulder.

"You do to sneak." Takamichi countered, looking out of the corner of his eye at his closest friend.

Tomomasa brought his fan to his chin, a thoughtful expression on his handsome face. "I will admit to moving stealthily." He grinned at his young companion.

"Sneak." Takamichi turned to study the general. "What brings you here?"

"I had a meeting with the Emperor and some of his other advisors."

Tomomasa made a face which brought an indulgent smile to the vice minister's lips; he knew of the general's disdain for some of the elder advisors, thinking they were too set in their ways. "Concerning…?"

"The current dry weather. Alarm is growing amongst the farmers and citizens. If we do not get rain soon, there may be a ration order put out." Tomomasa admitted.

"Things are that bad?" Takamichi asked as they started walking.

'They are getting that way. The Emperor has asked for prayers to be said and Abe no Seimei has been consulted." Tomomasa stopped under the shade of a tree and put a hand to his head.

"Tomomasa-dono? Daijoubu desu ka?" There was concern in Takamichi's voice.

"Heki desu. Just hot." Weary teal colored eyes added to the exhaustion in Tomomasa's voice.

Takamichi knelt to set down the scrolls he was carrying, "It's no wonder; look at you: kimono all closed up and such." He reached up to unclasp the garment and pulled apart the sides. He lifted a thin book and fanned the exposed skin.

"Arigatou, Takamichi." Tomomasa smiled his thanks and enjoyed the slight breeze the bespectacled man produced.

After a few minutes, Takamichi bent down to study Tomomasa. "You should go home and get some rest." He told the eldest Hachiyo; he could see fatigue in the normally serene features.

"Iie," Tomomasa stood to his full height. "I still have some things to attend to."

"You will be of no use to anyone if you collapse. There are many in Kyou who have been sickened due to the heat. The healers are being kept extremely busy seeing to them all." Takamichi imparted the information, hoping Tomomasa would take heed.

"I'll be fine. Your care has made me feel much better."

"Demo…."

"I promise to rest should I feel the need." Tomomasa assured.

Takamichi watched as Tomomasa strode away when a courtier came to fetch him. He was truly worried about the general who seemed to care for everyone else but not himself. He made a mental note to stop at Tomomasa's house on his own way home at the end of the day. His plans did not come to fruition as word came to him in the late afternoon that Tomomasa had been taken home after collapsing during a meeting. Takamichi quickly left after giving out instructions for the rest of the day and gathering some things. He made his way swiftly to Tomomasa's home where he was greeted by one of the general's household. "Takamichi-dono," he was greeted by the woman.

"How is he?" He asked, quickly shedding his shoes and hastily moving towards Tomomasa's private quarters.

"Sensei is with him now," the woman answered, trying to keep up with him. "They say he suddenly fell unconscious."

"I told him not to continue with his meetings today," the green haired Hachiyo muttered under his breath. "Maybe now he'll listen to me…." His words faded as he turned the last corner and could see Sensei examining Tomomasa who had been stripped down and with what he assumed were cold towels covering and surrounding his supine, muscular body. He knelt next to his friend and asked the healer how Tomomasa was.

"He should be fine with a bit of rest." The elderly man replied. "He's young, strong and healthy. Just a bit stubborn," he finished with a laughing smile.

"Hai," Takamichi smiled. "What should I do?" After receiving instructions for Tomomasa's care, Takamichi thanked the man and the healer left saying he had many more patients to see. The vice minister, turned concerned golden eyes on the sleeping man. "Now who has overdone it?"

Over the next few hours, Takamichi changed the icy towels and rubbed the general down in an effort to cool his body down. Takamichi had slipped out of his own over-kimono and ran a cold cloth over his face and neck trying to fight the heat himself. As he was eating the small, light meal one of the servants had brought him, he noticed the tired lines on Tomomasa's face. _He worries too much, keeps things to himself too often, not wanting others to worry, _he thought sipping cold tea. As the sun was setting, Takamichi settled at Tomomasa's desk with some of the reading material he had brought with him. He smiled when a lady lit a lamp for him to read by and brought a decanter of water and more ice. An hour or so later, he laid his head down on the scroll he was attempting to read and gave in to his own exhaustion.

Takamichi blinked to sleep out of his eyes and noticed the lamp had gone out but the moonlight was trying to peek through the clouds that were rolling in. He saw Tomomasa's futon was empty and darted anxious eyes around, searching. He found the teal haired man sitting near the open doorway, leaning against the post, head back, enjoying the cool breeze. "Tomomasa-dono?" Takamichi softly questioned kneeling next to his dearest friend.

"Gomen ne, Takamichi." Tomomasa sighed, closing his eyes.

"Iie, I'm just glad you will be alright." He sat across from him.

"I had been thinking of coming home, I was not feeling well and then….." Tomomasa fingered the silky strands of his hair resting over his shoulder in a pony tail. "Next thing I knew, I was home, you were here…."

"I would not be any place but here."

"Gomen ne," Tomomasa repeated. "I took you away from the archives and your own duties."

Takamichi crawled over to his friend, concerned at the defeated tone in the man's voice. "I would have done more if possible." He told him, reaching out to turn Tomomasa's face to look into the general's eyes. "You always take care of the rest of us, why not let me take care of you?"

"I'm supposed to be strong, so many look to me…." he sighed. "I sometimes get tired of being me." He admitted.

"Tomomasa-dono," Takamichi laid his hand along the side of his friend's weary face. "You don't have to be Tachibana no Tomomasa with me. You can be just Tomomasa."

Tomomasa smiled and taking Takamichi's fingers in his own, gave them a squeeze, "Arigatou, Takamichi." He then turned his head again to watch the clouds increasing. "Rain is coming." He said finally.

"It's on the breeze," Takamichi agreed. "And it's cooling off." He sighed as he felt the cool air on the back of his neck when he lifted the mass of his hair.

"I just hope it is enough."

"It will all balance out." Just then the first drops fell, making plopping noises on the wooded walkway. He watched as Tomomasa got to his feet, dropped his robe and walked out into his gardens in just a hakama. "Tomomasa-dono?" Takamichi also got to his feet but stayed underneath the overhang.

"This feels so good," the last word drawn out as the general turned his face up to feel the rain on his face. He turned with a smile and held out a hand to the vice minister. "Come join me."

"Tomomasa-dono, you should be resting." He started.

"Takamichi, Takamichi," the general and Hachiyo shook his head, smiling to himself. "I believe one way to cool off is a cold soaking. That is what I am doing." He explained, coming to stand at the steps leading to his rooms. "You look warm; come on: join me." He repeated, holding out a hand, beckoning the younger man. "Don't make me be sneaky." He finally teased, smiling.

With that, Takamichi gave a small laugh and let his outer kimono drop to the floorboards. He took Tomomasa's hand and let himself be drawn out into the gardens. The two men stood in the downpour, faces lifted to enjoy the end of the drought.

FIN


End file.
